• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Senators look to complete sweep of Sabres

May 16, 2007 - 1:03 PM Buffalo at Ottawa 7:00 pm EDT Eastern Conference Finals Senators lead 3-0

OTTAWA (Ticker) -- The top-seeded Buffalo Sabres are about to let a record-setting season slip away.

The Sabres hope to avoid a sweep when they face the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday in the Eastern Conference finals.

After winning the Presidents' Trophy for the first time in franchise history as the league's best regular-season team, Buffalo has had trouble scoring goals in the playoffs.

In three losses against Ottawa, the Sabres have just five goals on 72 shots. Buffalo's power-play has failed to score in 18 chances this series.

The Senators have had little trouble finding the net. Daniel Alfreddsson, Ottawa's captain, has tallied goals in five straight games and points in seven straight contests.

The right wing's second-period goal lifted the fourth-seeded Senators to a 1-0 victory on Monday and a commanding three-games-to-none lead in the series. Linemates Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley each extended their postseason scoring streak to eight games with assists on the Alfreddson tally.

Chris Phillips and Anton Volchenkov headline a stifling Ottawa defense which held Buffalo to just 15 shots in Game Three, making Ray Emery's third shutout of the postseason an easy proposition.

The Sabres are now faced with the uphill challenge of winning four games in a row to avoid being eliminated in the conference finals for the second conscutive year.

Ten of the last 12 games between these two Northeast Division rivals have been decided by one goal.